ISLAMABAD - A 15-member Chinese delegation, led by Gan Rongkun, Vice Governor of Hubei province, visited the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) on Saturday to discuss prospects of investment and joint ventures in One Belt One Road and China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects.
The delegation showed interest in investing in the energy and infrastructure development related projects, including constructions of roads, airports and railway networks in Pakistan. Members of the delegation said both countries had a great potential to enhance cooperation in auto- manufacturing, steel, cement, power generation, services industry and many other areas.
The members said Pakistan now had political stability and a growing economy. “These factors are stimulating interest in the Chinese investors to explore Pakistan for investment and joint ventures,” they said.
They said China State Construction Corp had already participated in many construction projects in Pakistan, including Centaraus, New Islamabad Airport, adding the Chinese investors would construct a 392 km long superhighway to connect Islamabad with other cities and industrial park in Pakistan. The members said the Chinese investment would create about 10,000 jobs in Pakistan. They further informed that Hubei province of China had a strong industrial base, great expertise in developing modern transportation systems, and it wanted to develop more close trade and industrial relations with Pakistan on win-win basis.
They also invited the Pakistani businessmen to Hubei to explore business opportunities there, as, being in the center of China, it had a strategic location, with a huge business potential.
In his welcome address, ICCI President Atif Ikram Sheikh said that CPEC was considered a game changer for Pakistan, and more Chinese investors should be encouraged to invest in this historic project for its timely completion.
He added there was a huge potential of investment in many sectors of Pakistan’s economy, including energy, infrastructure, mining, manufacturing, engineering, IT and others, while CPEC was poised to open new horizons of investment between China and Pakistan.
Sheikh said China had an advanced technology and great experience, while Pakistan had incentives to offer to the foreign investors.
He assured the delegation that ICCI would provide all possible cooperation to the Chinese businessmen in identifying business opportunities in Pakistan, and connecting them with right partners.
ICCI Senior Vice President Sheikh Pervez Ahmad and Vice President Sheikh Abdul Waheed also apprised the delegation of the benefits of investing in Pakistan.